Used. She could hardly argue with that.
A voice answers at the other end of the line. She gives the name and the telephone number Nathan reluctantly shares. She also gives the address they’re at, along with instructions for a team to get here ASAP. Her discomfort grows with her own sense of urgency. She hadn’t considered that the brother might still be here, in the house with them now. She’s about to ask Nathan for a description to share with the team, already knowing there must be a strong resemblance given Markham’s confusion between the two, but over his shoulder she spots a selection of family photos. She pushes past him and picks up a small silver frame tucked away at the back. It shows two teenage boys standing side by side; their clothes, their height, their faces identical.
‘You’re twins!’ she says, turning to face the grown-up version of one of those boys.
‘But we’re not the same,’ is all he says in response, not looking at the photo.
She hangs up on DS Peters. Placing the frame carefully back on the table, she returns to the centre of the room, never once turning her back on the door through which a second Nathan might pounce at any moment. She dials the mobile number she’s just been given for Christian, half-expecting to hear it ringing behind her. She spins round, but the line is dead.
‘He must have been to Scotland,’ she says, working through what she already knows. ‘To check on you. How else would he know what you look like now?’
‘Because we have a connection. Because we’ve always done things like that – chosen the same cars, clothes, haircuts – without having spoken to each other.’
‘You recognised the caravan park I mentioned. You recognised the writing at the first victim’s house, and the reference to your favourite childhood meal, a meal you both enjoyed, perhaps? I think you also recognised the pattern carved into the victim’s chest, possibly something related to your life in Scotland. You swore to me that nobody had been up there to see you, that they couldn’t have seen you. So, either you were wrong about that, or you’re right about this connection to your brother.’ She hates herself for carrying on, for ignoring his pleading look, his open hands in front of his face, the scars on his wrist, but she knows there’s still fight in him.
‘I think what we’re doing here is exactly what the real killer wants us to do. To doubt each other. To doubt our own flesh and blood.’
For a moment Katie’s thoughts turn to her dad, but she cannot allow the distraction.
‘I need to know everything about your family,’ she says. ‘Perhaps it’s best you tell me before the others get here. Let’s start with your brother.’
Nathan looks as if he’s about to protest, his arms now folded, his chin low, but he offers a reluctant nod. ‘I don’t know much,’ he says, ‘not anymore. We’ve been apart for the last few years, for the past…’ He tilts his head, as if searching for a number, but Katie doesn’t doubt he could give her the very day. ‘It was just before you and I started working together. It’s not that Christian and I don’t get along, it’s… well, it’s complicated, so complicated I couldn’t even explain it to him.’ A plane passes low overhead. ‘I decided in the end to tell him a lie. I convinced him I was living undercover, that I’d changed my name and my appearance and that if we got in contact beyond the occasional phone call it might put his life at risk. Perhaps he sensed that there was something wrong, or perhaps it’s because…’ He casts another look over at the family photos and then at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room. ‘This is a significant time for us. And it would make sense for him to think I might do something…’ He reaches for his wrist, running a shaking finger across the scar. ‘Whatever the reason, he’s come back, and here is the most obvious place to start trying to find me. He’s probably worried how I will react because I made him swear that he would never come for me.’ Nathan pauses and waits for Katie to nod in acceptance of her own failure to respect this same request. ‘He’s probably trying to check on me without me knowing, to see for himself that I’m doing okay. That’s probably why he lied to me about where he was and why he was worried about bumping into Markham. If he looked scared it’s likely he’s worried he’s blown my cover, that he’s put me and his family at risk.’
‘Family?’ says Katie, cutting him off. ‘Your brother has a family?’
‘A wife and a kid.’ As he says it, she can see the fear grip him as suddenly as it had gripped her.
‘Are you sure you don’t have an address for them?’ she asks, pulling out her mobile again.
‘I’ve never been there.’
‘Okay,’ she says, placing a gentle hand on his arm. ‘Let’s go outside. Some air will do us good. And my team will be here soon.’ It seems strange to refer to them as her team when for so long they had been his too. Although they had never quite accepted him and his unusual ways. Most were scared of his talent, despite the successes it won them. Nathan looks scared now, too: scared of what they might have already uncovered, scared of what it might mean for him. He holds out his hands, and she’s happy to slip the cuffs back on, wishing she could be doing the same to his twin.
* * *
Ten minutes later and Katie is standing at the top of the stairs leading up to the front door, watching her colleagues arrive. They’ve pulled up into the drive, tucking the black BMW up alongside the rusty old Citro?n. She waves them in, walking down the steps to meet them and keeping a close eye on Nathan.
‘Watch the front,’ she says to DS Mike Peters. She can tell he wants to ask a hundred questions, but instead he slowly rubs his balding head. Alongside him is DC Alice Jones, a newbie who looks far calmer than her colleague.
‘You take the back, but watch from there,’ says Katie, pointing over at the barred gate on the side of the house. ‘We’re keeping this low-key for now, but shout as loud as you can if you see anything. When the others get here, double up. There’s no reason to believe anyone is still here, but I’m not taking any risks.’ Trying to look casual for the benefit of neighbours, and working through the best course of action, she only notices DC Jones’ confused stare at the very last moment. She follows her gaze over to Nathan, sitting on the steps, his hands hidden by his legs but clearly in cuffs to anyone with a trained eye.
‘Good spot, Alice! That’s exactly who you’re looking for. Another one of him.’
‘But…?’
‘Identical twins,’ explains Katie. ‘This one works with us. Nathan is going to stay with me at all times. And… Can I?’ She points at DS Peters’ fluorescent bib and, understanding immediately, he takes it off. She holds it up in front of them. ‘Make sure to let the others know that Nathan has this on.’
They nod in agreement and move to their positions while Katie walks over to Nathan, draping the oversized bib across his shoulders. ‘One day we’ll get you some clothes of your own. But to avoid confusion…’
‘Christian is not hiding here,’ he snaps. ‘At least give me credit for knowing that much.’
‘Okay,’ she says calmly. ‘But keep it on anyway, just to be safe. Now, there’s definitely no other way to get out?’ She points towards the small door down the side that they’d walked past on the way to the garden. ‘Just the conservatory where we bumped into Markham, and the front?’
‘That’s all,’ says Nathan, pulling against her restraint.